Puzzlemucker

I’ll push back against our host a bit. I found this to be a wicked Thursday for the first ten minutes, barely able to fill in anything. For me, that’s the sign of a great Thursday. It’s the thrill of dazed befuddlement that I want from a Thursday. Yes, once I finally figured out the theme from the revealer, it was relatively smooth sailing. But particularly as compared to some of the Thursdays we’ve had this year, I thought this puzzle was quite good.

Deb, Thanks for helping keep me sane (saner?) for the past several years. Like a great teacher, you will never know how many lives you’ve touched through your kindness, humor, patience and infectious enthusiasm for crosswords. I can tell you: 48,973. Give or take. Excellent debut!

To My Favorite NYT Columnist D̲o eight lines of verse E̲ven the purse B̲etween Deb and I? A̲m I a fool to try? M̲an, it’s clearly not a fair trade, L̲ines of ragged doggerel, E̲ven if lovingly made, N̲o recompense for all she gave. Deb, you are a light in this world, which I know will continue to shine. May your next chapter bring plenty of joy! And, please, come back to visit (if not for us, then for the emus, who are reportedly inconsolable).

What a fantastic revealer. And a satisfyingly crunchy puzzle for a Tuesday. GIVE ME MORE MOOR (“What Shakespeare’s editor said after reading the first draft of Othello?”)

Re “You wanna take this outside?,” I may have related this before, so excuse me if I have. As a newish attorney, I had a high profile trial in federal court in New Jersey. I did not meet the opposing trial attorney until the first day of trial because he had not been involved in the discovery process. He was cocky, experienced and . . . pugnacious. He took an immediate disliking to me, and took great offense at my objecting to something he said during his opening statement. By the end of the day, he was steaming. After the jury and judge left the courtroom, he expressed his displeasure and said, “Go back to New York, you punk.” When I responded in a way he did not like, his next words were, “Do you wanna go outside?” This was in a federal court and the courtroom deputy was still present. When I reminded him, incredulously, that we were supposed to be above such behavior, that only made him angrier. Luckily, his associate (whom i had gotten to know and like during discovery) restrained him and they finally left. That was day 1 of a three-week trial. Needless to say, I was a bit shaken, but I managed to hold it together and justice prevailed. By the end, we had become begrudgingly cordial. A few months later, I received a call from a potential client. When I asked how he had found me, he explained that the man who had recently wanted to beat me up had referred him. Extremely fun Monday. 123 rejections! I have a tough time dealing with one. Bravo to you both!

16?! Debuting on a Friday (with a tough Friday)? Way to go, Jackson! You remind me of myself at 16. Well, with drive, focus, talent . . . but otherwise, a lot of similarities. A coda to yesterday’s puzzle. This morning, our local radio station had a short bit on “Stopping By Woods …,” as today (Thursday) is the 101st anniversary of its publication. It was Frost’s favorite of his poems. The backstory is poignant. Frost wrote the poem when he was struggling financially and feared he would not be able to buy Christmas presents for his children. An unsuccessful farmer, he rode his horse to town to try to sell some produce so he could purchase presents. He was unable to sell anything and rode back home in the snow. He stopped beside the neighboring woods and began to sob. His horse, Eunice, had the grace to let him have a good cry. Finally, Eunice jingled her bells and they continued their journey home. The story is related here: <a href="https://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php" target="_blank">https://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php</a>%3Fdate=2012%252F03%252F07.html

A masterpiece. Best Sunday yet of 2025 for my money. Thank you, Paul!

Crossword Revolution Redux (Thanks for your your indulgence; such a remarkable speech that it deserves highlighting): “scorching IRONY” “At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. O! had I the ability, and could I reach the nation’s ear, I would, to-day, pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake. The feeling of the nation must be quickened; the conscience of the nation must be roused; the propriety of the nation must be startled; the hypocrisy of the nation must be exposed; and its crimes against God and man must be proclaimed and denounced.” Frederick Douglass (from “What to the Slave is the 4th of July?”, 1852, speech presented to the Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society of Rochester, NY). See <a href="https://edsitement.neh.gov/student-activities/frederick-douglasss-what-slave-fourth-july" target="_blank">https://edsitement.neh.gov/student-activities/frederick-douglasss-what-slave-fourth-july</a>

Deb, Thanks for giving a bunch of oddballs and ne’er-do-wells a place to feel at home. We’ll miss you and, as Liz B. said, hope to read you in other venues. Perhaps a juicy tell-all memoir about the cutthroat world of crosswording? Cheers!

I was struck most by the meter of this puzzle. So many iambic entries: FLASH FLOOD, PRANK CALLS, SAY CHEESE, PLOT POINTS, UPLIT, BOPEEP. . . . You can practically chant them. Throw in a few anapests (MARINE CORPS, JERSEY SWAP, SAMURAI, SO DO I),* some Shakespeare (WHO GOES THERE?) and the plaintive DON’T LEAVE, and a puzzle poet could have a feast. Well done, Colin. Happy New Year to the best crowd on the internet! And as I’m sure many have already said, a huge welcome back to Will S. * Your stresses may vary.

I loved this puzzle and absolutely will not complain about it being “too easy.” At a certain point, who cares? I’ll take x minutes of sheer fun, which I thought this was. Sure, I love that Saturday feeling of being up against it, of feeling like I might be a lot less good at this Xword thing than I thought I was before I started it, of pushing my brain to its upper limits. But I also love puzzles with personality and this had plenty of it. All of the “?” clues were keepers and the ANDY clue was brilliant. Of course, I’m blown away that a high school sophomore was the primary constructor. Yowsa!

This week has been tumultuous. I’m not referring to war, politics, March Madness, or turbulence in my personal life. No, of course, I’m talking about the Wordplay comments section. If you were to tell a non-crosswording friend, “Hey, I’m feeling a little shaky because things got really heated in the crossword comments this week — accusations of betrayal, elitism, wokeism, ignorance, and intense battles over whether Uh-oh is one word or two,” they would likely burst out laughing or question whether you have been getting enough sleep. One wonders what Walt Whitman would have made it of it all. From “Song of Myself” (loosely connects with the theme) Stop this day and night with me and you shall possess the origin of all poems, You shall possess the good of the earth and sun, (there are millions of suns left,) You shall no longer take things at second or third hand, nor look through the eyes of the dead, nor feed on the spectres in books, You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me, You shall listen to all sides and filter them from your self.

What a great puzzle. If I recall correctly, one of Byron’s former college students once posted a very nice note about him on here. Every time I do one of his puzzles, I feel like I am learning something new while having a great, and often pleasurably vexing, time. I have no doubt that he is an excellent math professor, and luckily for us, an excellent crossword constructor to boot.

Coming here to rejoice with other puzzle-lovers in a Sunday puzzle for the ages. It’s fitting that Jeff would be a co-creator, as he long lamented on Xwordinfo that the overall quality of the Sunday NYT Xword has declined from its heyday in the 90s and aughts. Not sure if that’s true but IMO this one is up there with the best of the last 30 years. As usual, Caitlin summed up my solving experience quite nicely, and I appreciated her link to the joke about the dog spy. Any excuse for a laugh these days is welcome. Hope all are hanging in and hanging on.

There are so many great women poets but I am inexorably drawn to Emily D. In my mind anyway, she is Walt Whitman’s sister and they both give me hope during my darkest days. To make a prairie (No. 1755) To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee, One clover, and a bee. And revery. The revery alone will do, If bees are few. -Emily Dickinson I’m glad to see the NYT Xword celebrate International Women’s Day with this fantastic puzzle! Thank you, Kelly and Will.

Hardest Saturday since . . . well, it’s been a while. Like Liz B, I was surprised to finish. I think most of the difficulty lay in the thorny cluing. But the three entries that ended with “I” all threw me, for different reasons: THALAMI, WHY SHOULD I and POLI SCI. Need a DOG NAP after this one. OLE, Sam!

Seems official. This comments section has been overrun by folks who would like the NYT Xword to become a questionnaire with occasional wordplay or a slightly more difficult version of the Parade magazine crossword. This sentiment became much more prevalent once the pandemic started and many newer solvers took up crosswords, with a surprising number expecting, demanding even, instant proficiency. It was most strongly voiced with respect to Thursday puzzles. And then Sundays. Now, it’s Saturdays . . . I find it disheartening but in the words not of Yogi Berra, It is what is and if it wasn’t what it is, it would probably become what it is anyway. I know I paint with a broad brush. Some long-time solvers who like difficult puzzles just didn’t like this puzzle and many newer solvers actually loved it. But the bottom line for me is a comments section that has lost much of the joy and pleasure it once yielded. Still a lot to love about it, but for me at least, a lot to make me want to keep my distance.

Wow, what a S/Funday! Crossword Revolution D12: SIESTA/FIESTA Because we need to continue to sleep and have fun if we want this revolution to have staying power. A Crosswords Saved the Day production. No ™ anymore.

I’ve been emu’d, and while the embargo might be lifted, I am trying to post a milder version before I fall asleep (last day, hopefully, of a bad head cold): With this puzzle, I’ve decided to sever my crossword self (hereafter “my crossie”) from my self self (hereafter “myself”). So that entries like SPURIOUS, GREEDY and UTTER ROT don’t trigger a response other than, “Oh, how interesting!’, FEDERAL GRANT doesn’t make me retch, the clue for IRONIES doesn’t make me scream, “There is nothing ‘amusing’ about any of this!”, and MALARIA doesn’t make me weep. My crossie did pretty well on its MAIDEN voyage. It admittedly balked momentarily at RIOTS, RAID, RAT and a few others (well, if we’re honest, about half the puzzle). But they say the crossword severance procedure can take several days to really take, so that a crossword puzzle can once again just be a pleasant diversion. Fun puzzle that grew on me (my crossie)!

Remarkably executed theme. Three spellings that seemed wrong and made me question my third grade Spelling Bee award - did everyone get that award just for showing up? ISOSCELES, SCHWEPPES, PAULO. Also, many bonus points for including John MCPHEE.

This gets my vote for Sunday POY to date. Not just the multi-layered theme, which was delicious, but the cluing and fill were extra good. Also appreciated the sideways shoutout to Walter Mosley (“Devil in a Blue Dress”). Blessed are Rachel and Adam!

Just checking in. Busy work week. I’m sure I didn’t miss any controversies. ;-) Really loved this puzzle. Like Deb, I struggled out of the gate but picked up a lot of steam once I hit the middle of the grid. Well done, Julian. Great constructor note as well.

Just gorgeous. Thanks Lewis and Barbara. Your warm, smart selves shone throughout this puzzle.

Incredible constructing feat and a joy to solve. I wish I hadn’t read the puzzle title before starting. Got EIGHT and then TEN pretty early and realized what was going on based on the “Countdown” title. Still blown away that Hoang-Kim Vu pulled this off! But I shouldn’t be - his 9/11/23 “Still I Rise” puzzle was one of the most ingenious Monday puzzles ever. A star in the making. I love how much more diverse the constructor pool has become over the past several year. And so much youth. Very hopeful for this crazy pastime of ours.

Beautiful puzzle, crapper notwithstanding. A beast, especially while toggling between Knicks and NCAA b-ball games. The clue for ABIDE is such a Will Shortz-influenced clue. Will, hope you are doing better each day. Peace to all and praying for peace this Easter weekend.

Just what we need — scary headlines! Kidding, of course. I enjoyed this news-based puzzle and don’t recall seeing a similar theme before. My first comment was emubargoed, so perhaps if I’m a bit more discreet this one will get through. Possible recent headline: 11/5/2024 DEMOCRACY SINKS

Knew it would be tough when I saw Byron’s byline. A 3-breaker. Caitlin has said everything I might and better, and frankly my brain is mush. As Barry said, Now that was a Saturday puzzle! I am delighted that Saturday puzzles lately have been true tests of fortitude and lateral thinking. I know many will not be, but please keep ‘em coming.

POEM When Friday night arrives and the week has left me shattered my synapses fire slowly, my crossword brain in tatters. I start up in the northwest optimistic without cause but like those pesky tariffs I soon must take a pause. My grid remains empty except for an ugly ICK, I wander down to the southeast but still nothing comes quick. My Saturday solving mind has taken a plane to Havana, my deficits as exposed as gazelles on a savanna. I should really hit the hay and end this feckless warring but I get COMIC RELIEF and then URANIUM and suddenly I’m ROARING. Another Saturday in the books, perseverance (and, um, one, maybe two, Check Puzzles) was all it took.

Given the constrictions imposed by the theme, I’m blown away by the freshness and quality of the fill, from SEA FOAM to LADYFERN and so much more. Xwordinfo gave it a 96% Wednesday “freshness” rating based on its formula, meaning that only 4% of Wednesday puzzles score higher. Thats unbelievable in light of the intricacy of the theme - snaking four Valentine-y words in the four quadrants so that they spelled out LOVE. Wow!

Crossword Revolution Day 5: ANYTOWN USA ANYTOWN USA still believes in: Decency Honesty Equity The Constitution Democracy Right? * This is a Crosswords Saved the Day ™ production.

⚫ It NOT TO PUT TOO FINE A POINT ON IT Fun puzzle. All of the themers were excellent, especially since there were not “∞ Options” INFINITE POSSIBILITIES

Thank you, Daniel, for adding DROP IT. For me, the added layer elevated this puzzle from clever to magical. Sort of like a magician who is wearing a tall black topper when he starts doing a card trick and at the end of the trick you look back up at his head and the topper’s gone. You exclaim: HOW DID HE PULL (T)HAT OFF?

Best wishes to Will S. for a quick and full recovery. As for many of us, he has been a welcome presence in my life for over thirty years, both as the NYT Xword editor and as the Puzzlemaster on NPR’s Weekend Edition. Congrats to Steve L. on his remarkable milestone! And finally, welcome and congratulations to Samantha on this auspicious debut. 80s redux with BANANArama’s “Cruel Summer : <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9ml3nyww80" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9ml3nyww80</a>

Great to do an Erik Agard Saturday. So grateful for crossword puzzles, both from new constructors and “old” pros like Erik. And treasuring Will Shortz even more than I did before his recent absence. Loved the symmetrical pair of FREEDOM RIDES and CORETTA SCOTT King.

A poem for this puzzle, adapted from Sojourner Truth’s 1851 speech at a Women’s Rights convention in Akron Ohio: AIN'T I A WOMAN That man over there say a woman needs to be helped into carriages and lifted over ditches and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helped me into carriages or over mud puddles or gives me a best place... And ain't I a woman? Look at me Look at my arm! I have plowed and planted and gathered into barns and no man could head me... And ain't I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man — when I could get to it — and bear the lash as well and ain't I a woman? I have borne 13 children and seen most all sold into slavery and when I cried out a mother's grief none but Jesus heard me... And ain't I a woman? that little man in black there say a woman can't have as much rights as a man cause Christ wasn't a woman Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with him! If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it right side up again. And a bonus for anyone who has read this far: “Hope” is the thing with feathers - That perches in the soul - And sings the tune without the words - And never stops - at all - (E. Dickinson)

Just what the doctor ordered. Thursday worthy with no technical snags for folks. Just a good old-fashioned brain test - make sense of that which does not appear to make sense. That’s what Thursday puzzles are all about. Beautiful job, Simeon.

Crossword Revolution Day 26: HUMBLE PIE The Real Work It may be that when we no longer know what to do we have come our real work, and that when we no longer know which way to go we have come to our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings. - Wendell Berry Crosswords Saved The Day ™.

Just saw Elvis Costello in concert last night and was doing some online reading about him today and learned that OLIVIA RODRIGO’s “Brutal” owes a big musical debt to Elvis’ “Pump it Up.” When asked why he didn’t sue her, Elvis said: “I did not find any reason to go after them legally for that, because I think it would be ludicrous,” Costello continued. “It’s a shared language of music.” Gotta love the guy! Still in fine form at 70. Here are the two songs: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y71iDvCYXA" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y71iDvCYXA</a> (“Pump it Up”) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGUy2UmRxJ0" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGUy2UmRxJ0</a> (“Brutal”) Puzzle was as fizzy as an ORANGE SODA. A really nice Friday puzzle.

Owen, Thanks for an excellent puzzle. Many of us have been helped through difficult times by crossword puzzles. They were there when I lost my parents, pets and other loved ones, when I struggled through bouts of depression, when I felt overwhelmed by personal turmoil. They are there now as I try to keep my hope alive for this country. They can be a balm and uplift, and this certainly fit the bill, from its clever cluing to its crunchy fill, along with those crossword standbys which I always find comforting, like OLES and ANI (even when DiFranco-less). Thanks, too, for including Linda ELLERBEE. I’ve always been a fan and for a while last year she popped up regularly on our local NPR radio station’s morning roundtable show. She remains as sharp as ever and is an under-recognized national treasure. Here’s one of my favorites from ANI, another treasure: “Joyful Girl”: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qS_b_ExBfWI" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qS_b_ExBfWI</a>

Here’s to “our Johns”: John “Jack” McCullough, Ezra, Jersey Coast, Dietsch, Deal, and I’m sure some more who go by other names. I seem to recall @Coloradoz is a John, but I could be wrong. No one can say that Wordplay doesn’t know Jack. The Shakespeare quote reminded me of a passage from Rilke about embracing our fears and that led me on a bit of a goose chase that ended with Auden’s “September 1, 1939,” the final stanza of which are good words to live by in dark times: Defenceless under the night Our world in stupor lies; Yet, dotted everywhere, Ironic points of light Flash out wherever the Just Exchange their messages: May I, composed like them Of Eros and of dust, Beleaguered by the same Negation and despair, Show an affirming flame. -W.H. Auden

Deb, I’m very sorry for your loss. I love the image of young Deb helping your dad with his crossword as a “solving team.” I’m sure your father cherished those memories as well. It has been our good fortune that your father introduced you to the wonderful world of crosswords. Loved the puzzle. A gentle but very clever and elegant theme. So many great STEELY Dan songs but “Reelin’ in the Years” contains one of my favorite lyrics: “You been tellin' me you're a genius since you were seventeen In all the time I've known you I still don't know what you mean” <a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=5b6fPnBtUqw" target="_blank">https://youtube.com/watch?v=5b6fPnBtUqw</a>

I’ll just put in my 2 cents that I very much appreciate a Monday that requires some work, like this one. I know Mondays are gateway puzzles for newer solvers, which I respect, and this one will get some blowback for being “too hard forMonday,” but what a pleasure to be puzzled by a Monday puzzle!

I agree with Marshall W. that this was an elegant puzzle and bravura debut. Lots of coherence and a dazzling design! When I read the constructor’s name, Sam Berriman, I couldn’t help but think of the poet, John Berryman, who wrote the dense and elliptical Dream Songs. Henry was Berryman’s poetic protagonist and I wondered if perhaps this puzzle could be transformed into a Dream Song. So, here goes: Dream Song 12272024 Henry is the MAN IN THE MIRROR PUKING up TEN DOLLAR WORDS and FRESH OUT of WOW, EDGY in T-SHIRT and DEERSTALKER CAP, No PENSION FUND or SIGNED PHOTOS, No SAINT. When Henry is TENSE he sings SHORT dream SONGS, never quite SOLVING them, Always at sea until at last, TADA, LAND HO!

Sleeves off to Caitlin for finding that column photo. What did the stevedore say after a particularly satisfying potato chip? That was a HELLUVA LAY MAN

Sweet puzzle. Happy holidays to all. In the Wordplay tradition of Christmas/holiday verse, here’s a modest offering: Jesus dreamed big Bigger than most Though he was not want To brag or to boast, Turned water into wine Rose from the dead The guy was the son of God Or so they said, But that day he was born Even he could not imagine Pulling off a trick That eluded Aladdin, A Thursday puzzle with Rebuses galore Black squares opening like doors Crazy entries running in all directions, Some even below the puzzle floor, But most amazing of all Surely the angels would adore Instead of “Boo hiss!” in the Comments, It was all “More, More, More!”

LINCOLN in the BODHI* After losing Willie he becomes RAWER At times EDGY, ACRID, quick to SNAP His sorrow ORGANIC, it WILL not PASS. OHH ABRAHAM LINCOLN OHH ABRAHAM LINCOLN Behold the snowy EGRET, the common EIDER, the DOVE, A ribbon of ROBBINS . . . Birds DIVERT course to escape the smoke of war. He thinks, “I WILL not be STUNTED by grief, I WILL not allow this country to REEL and then ROT, I WILL fight for a FAIRER UNION so that one day they might say He CAME, He saw, He mended.” *A NOD to George Saunders’ “Lincoln in the Bardo”

Absolutely terrible! Why am I paying good money for this junk? I’ve checked every English and foreign language dictionary I could find and NONE OF THEM has FAELWENA, NOOMDAB or any of the other so-called “themers.” Time to cancel the NYT crossword from my subscriptions! I’m flipping it DRIBEHT!!! (Try and censor that you flipping UMES!)

I’ve been on a Wislawa Szymborska kick lately, the great Polish poet. I posted excerpts from two of her poems Wednesday night but they were emu’d (the word “dunnce” (with one n) was the apparent culprit). Hopeful but clear-eyed, funny, lyrical, a humanist of the highest order. Here’s her poem, “A Note,” inspired by MENTAL NOTE. A Note by Wislawa Szymborska (Translated by Clare Cavanagh and Stanislaw Baranczak) Life is the only way to get covered in leaves, catch your breath on the sand, rise on wings; to be a dog, or stroke its warm fur; to tell pain from everything it’s not; to squeeze inside events, dawdle in views, to seek the least of all possible mistakes. An extraordinary chance to remember for a moment a conversation held with the lamp switched off; and if only once to stumble upon a stone, end up soaked in one downpour or another, mislay your keys in the grass; and to follow a spark on the wind with your eyes; and to keep on not knowing something important.